If someone asked you to name some functionality of your iPhone that you couldn’t live without, you’d probably say the camera.

But research shows that 83% of Americans use a phone for an alarm.

It’s handy if you sleep with your iPhone by your pillow.

But you might not want the alarm to wake up others in the room so having the alarm play through headphones may be better.

Will An iPhone Alarm Play Through Headphones?

A woman setting an alarm on her iPhone

An iPhone alarm will play through wired headphones when they are plugged in and it will also play through your phone’s built-in speaker.

However, an iPhone alarm will not play through Bluetooth headphones or Bluetooth speakers.

In this post, we’re going to look at how headphones work with an iPhone alarm, how you can get the alarm to play through the headphones only, and things to try if your alarm doesn’t seem to be working.

Will I Hear My iPhone Alarm Through My Headphones?

If you are using wired headphones plugged into the iPhone when the alarm is set to go off, you will hear it ring through the headphones.

It will also ring through the built-in speaker of the phone, sounding into the room.

However, Bluetooth headphones don’t work this way.

Even when your earbuds or other Bluetooth headphones are connected to your iPhone, the alarm will sound only through the phone’s built-in speaker.

You will not hear it through your headphones.

How Do I Get My iPhone Alarm to Only Play Through Headphones?

There currently is not a setting that allows you to keep the alarm from ringing through the phone speaker.

You cannot set the alarm to play only through the wired headphones.

While it will ring through wired headphones, it will usually ring through the speaker, as well.

But there are a few ways to try and work around this.

Is There A Way To Get My iPhone Alarm To Sound Through Headphones Only?

By default, the alarm on your iPhone is set to sound through both the speakers and headphones but there are some ways you can get the alarm to sound through your headphones only.

Mute Voice Before Inserting Headphones

The first thing you can try is to mute the voice before you insert your headphones.

Then, insert the headphones and set the volume to your desired level.

This way, the sound of the alarm will only come through the headphones because the voice on your phone will have been muted, but the volume to the headphones will not.

Try A Third-Party App

You could also look for a third-party alarm app that allows you to only hear the alarm through your headphones.

The native Apple alarm won’t be of help for this because it was designed to always play through the built-in speaker in the phone.

Third-party apps won’t necessarily have that limitation.

There are several to consider and they all come with their own various features, as well as different sound options.

Make sure to look at the pricing of options you’re considering, too.

Most are free for download but have costs associated with them for upgrades, sounds, or subscriptions.

And make sure the app is running as you go to sleep.

Use A Reminder Instead

Set a reminder instead of an alarm.

The reminder will play through your headphones only.

The only problem is that there won’t be any snooze or looping feature, so if you’re a heavy sleeper it may not be enough to wake you up.

But you could set multiple reminders at different intervals to gradually annoy you from your sleep.

How Can I Use Wired Headphones without A Headphones Port?

Apple ditched the 3.5mm headphones port back in 2016.

Since then, their intention was for iPhone users to pair Bluetooth headphones and earbuds to their devices for audio. 

This doesn’t mean you can’t use wired headphones with your iPhone, though.

It just requires an extra connection between the two. 

You will need to pick up a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter.

The adapter plugs into the charging port of the iPhone, thus allowing you to plug your wired headphones into it.

Related Article: Can An Apple Watch Have Its Own Phone Number? (Explained)

Why Do iPhone Alarms Sometimes Not Work?

Most of the time when an iPhone alarm is thought not to have gone off, it actually did – or else we just set it up wrong.

If your iPhone alarm doesn’t seem to be working properly here are a few things to check first.

Accidentally Turning Down The Volume

Sometimes the volume inadvertently gets turned down on your iPhone’s ringer.

The ringer volume is what sets the level for the alarm.

If it’s too low, you may not hear the alarm sound.

Always go into the actual settings of your alarm and check that the volume raised enough.

Setting The Alarm Tone To None

It could also be that your alarm tone is set to “None” rather than a tone.

Open your clock app and select the “Alarm Page“.

Tap “Edit” in the top left corner.

Choose the alarm you want to set and make sure a tone has been selected. 

The Volume Is Out Of Sync

The physical volume button on the side of your phone may not be in sync with the ringer and alerts volume within the settings of your phone.

This means that you may have turned the volume up high using the button on the side of your phone, but the volume of your alarm will still be low because the two volume settings are not in sync.

To check this, you can go into the sound settings on your iPhone under “Ringer And Alerts” you will see the volume bar that can be raised or lowered.

Ensure that it’s loud enough to wake you up.

There may also be an option for you to “Change The Volume With Buttons“.

Enabling this will sync the volume settings so that they can now be adjusted with the buttons on the side of your iPhone.

Check The Repeat Alarm Settings

If you have accidentally set your alarm to only repeat one day per week, then it’s not going to go off on other days and may lead you to believe that it isn’t working.

To check this, go into your Alarm App, tap “Edit” and then tap on the alarm that you have saved.

From here you can tap on “Repeat” and this will show you the days you have selected for your alarm to be repeated.

Check that your alarm is set to repeat on all the days that you need to.

While you’re here in the settings you can also tap “Sound” and check that the alarm sound you have chosen is suitable.

Perhaps your chosen audio track is a little low and struggles to wake you up.

Try out some of the different alarm sounds and see if you can find one you’d prefer to wake up to.

Try A Restart

If all of the above are not fixing the issue, try restarting your iPhone, just in case there’s a temporary bug that’s affecting your alarm app.

If all the settings look all right and you’re still having issues with the alarm, it’ll probably be best to contact Apple Support for further assistance.

Conclusion

An iPhone alarm is meant to ring through the built-in speaker of the phone, regardless of whether headphones are connected or not.

While you can hear your iPhone alarm in wired headphones, you won’t hear it in Bluetooth headphones. 

There isn’t a way to route the alarm through the headphones only.

If you have reason to want your alarm played strictly through your headphones, you can try out some of our tips above or look for a third-party alarm app that gives you that capability.